Chapter 180: An Agonized Look of Being Forced into Prostitution

Chapter 180: Chapter 180: An Agonized Look of Being Forced into Prostitution

"Telling you to take a concubine might be a test?" Cui Mingrui said. "From what I know, young women often say the opposite of what they mean to see their husband’s reaction."

My An Ning used to pretend to be magnanimous every now and then, suggesting she’d find a concubine for me.

And when I refused flatly, she would beam like a flower, absolutely delighted.

As he spoke of his wife, the man across from him’s voice became exceedingly gentle.

Xie Jinbai found this very unpleasant to hear. Having suffered repeated setbacks in love, he couldn’t stand to see others so deeply affectionate. He wanted to lash out, but considering their respective statuses, he restrained himself. He only asked, "If it’s a test, would she threaten to kill herself?"

"Threaten to kill herself?"

Cui Mingrui was stunned. "Are you sure no one is pressuring her?"

"I’m sure!"

Xie Jinbai said, "In all of Great Yue, there’s no one she has to answer to. Even my Father Emperor can’t pressure her. Under these circumstances, she’s insisting I take a concubine and have a child. It’s no good even if I offer to quietly adopt a child from the Imperial Family."

He selectively let out a fraction of the bitter grievances filling his belly.

Xie Jinbai was exasperated. "She’s using her own life to threaten me, leaving me no other choice."

From the sound of it, there truly seemed to be no way out.

Cui Mingrui’s brow furrowed tightly. "You two can argue all you want, but you absolutely must not bring a concubine into the household. Otherwise, there will never be another day of peace between husband and wife."

As if Xie Jinbai didn’t know that.

’Is this what I want?’

He retorted, "Then what should I do? Just stand by and watch her die?"

"Nonsense," Cui Mingrui said angrily. "She’s alive and well. Why would she try to kill herself?"

"She’s alive and well now, but I don’t dare take that gamble!"

The bitterness filling his chest finally broke through. Xie Jinbai ground out through clenched teeth, "I don’t dare take the gamble, do you understand?"

The man, who had always been so lofty and imposing, was now shamelessly revealing his own cowardice.

Cui Mingrui was dumbfounded.

Xie Jinbai looked at him and said, word by word, "Even if there’s the slightest possibility, I don’t dare gamble on it!"

When it came to that woman’s life, he was scared to death and wouldn’t dare take any risks.

"..."

Cui Mingrui gulped down a cup of cold tea, but it wasn’t enough to quell his shock.

’This is too absurd...’

He had only ever seen mothers threaten suicide to force their sons to take concubines.

For a primary wife to do so was unheard of.

’And of all people, it had to be my own sister?’

’To push her own husband to this point, yet still insist he take a concubine...’

Xie Jinbai didn’t expect anyone to be able to solve this problem for him. This outburst was simply because he had been suppressing too much and couldn’t help but vent a little to her brother.

Even as he poured out his grievances, he was secretive, terrified of revealing the woman’s secrets.

The pavilion grew quiet.

Time trickled by, and soon it was dusk.

"You can just listen to what I’ve said today. There’s no need to tell my father-in-law and mother-in-law, lest they worry," Xie Jinbai said, wiping his face with his hand and preparing to leave. "It’s getting late. I won’t disturb you any longer, Brother."

He stood up to leave but was stopped by the man across from him.

"This whole affair is too bizarre. Knowing Yaoyao as I do, I refuse to believe she would make such a muddle-headed decision. There must be some hidden reason, mustn’t there?"

After his astonishment faded, Cui Mingrui managed to sort through the situation. "Forcing you to take a concubine and have a child—what’s in it for her?"

’What’s in it for her...’

Xie Jinbai scoffed. "Who knows? I can’t tell if she’s telling the truth or not, but she told me that if I don’t take a concubine and have a child, she will die."

’As for why she would die...’

Cui Mingrui was no fool.

He had his own ideas about whether his sister had truly died three years ago or had simply been in a coma.

Especially since she was able to produce a Divine Elixir like the Hundred Diseases Pill as soon as she woke up.

It would be impossible without some miraculous encounter.

Cui Mingrui pondered for a few moments before saying, "If you want to know if she’s telling the truth, it’s simple. You just have to test her."

As the words reached him, Xie Jinbai’s eyes snapped up to look at him. "How do I test her?"

The air stagnated for a moment. Faced with that chilling aura, Cui Mingrui couldn’t help but think that one would need a strong heart to work under this man.

He countered, "What do you think of Yaoyao’s feelings for you?"

This topic happened to poke at the most uncertain place in Xie Jinbai’s heart.

It felt like a stab through the lungs. His gaze darkened slightly as he said self-mockingly, "According to her, she’s quite fond of me."

But he was afraid of being deceived again.

’When it comes to the words of a liar, I only dare to believe half of them.’

Cui Mingrui: "..."

It seemed his sweet, lovely sister had truly wounded this man deeply.

To think a man so used to acting willfully could be reduced to such a state of insecurity.

Although he took some pleasure in seeing Xie Jinbai frustrated and tormented...

...as an older brother, Cui Mingrui still hoped for his sister to have a happy and smooth-sailing marriage.

He mulled it over for a few moments. "Let’s analyze this. If Yaoyao isn’t lying, and she genuinely is fond of you, yet she still wants you to take a concubine and have a child, it can only mean one thing: this matter truly is a threat to her life."

"If that’s the case, then you should just take a concubine, and no one would have any grounds to object."

Xie Jinbai said nothing. He tilted his head back and drained another cup of cold tea.

He had the anguished look of a virtuous maiden being forced into prostitution.

The sight made the corner of Cui Mingrui’s mouth twitch. "But if Yaoyao is lying to you, and whether or not you take a concubine and have a child has no bearing on her life, then there’s only one other possibility."

Xie Jinbai looked at him. "What is it?"

"That the consequences of you *not* taking a concubine and having a child are so severe for Yaoyao that she considers them equivalent to death. But she knows that only by saying her life is in danger would you..."

Cui Mingrui paused, then said, "...submit."

Using those words to describe such a decisive and ruthless man felt jarring even to Cui Mingrui himself.

But Xie Jinbai felt no humiliation at all.

He was lost in thought for a long time, his expression gradually turning grim.

It was a possibility he had, of course, considered.

He knew that the so-called ’system’ that had saved her several times had fallen dormant.

’Could she be deliberately forcing him to take a concubine to save that thing?’

’Or does she want to return to her own world, and that’s why... she’s threatening suicide?’

"Could that be it?"

Xie Jinbai couldn’t make up his mind. He was trapped in a state of anxiousness, as if he could be abandoned at any moment, feeling both frantic and furious.

He ground his back teeth. "Everyone is more important than me!"

’In that woman’s heart.’

’Her adoptive brother from another world, the system that saved her multiple times, her family in this world, even Chen Minrou...’

’Every single one of them is more important than I am!’

"..." Cui Mingrui was silent.

He was utterly impressed by his younger sister.

’How did she manage to train him like this?’

His expression was complicated.

"Could it be..."

"Could it be that you’ve given her so much security that she has never truly felt the possibility of ’losing’ you, and so she hasn’t realized your importance?"

"You’ve given her too much affection, and my Yaoyao was the one forced to accept it, to the point that she never had a chance to see her own heart clearly."

"Things that are easily obtained, that are eagerly offered up, are often not cherished."

"It might seem unbelievable."

"But many people in this world are like that."

"The person who is always by their side, never leaving, is always the one who gets subconsciously overlooked."

Xie Jinbai was stunned. "So, it’s my fault?"